Roberts Elementary School
DALLAS — In April, we showed you how residents of Jubilee Park were fighting to hold on to their homes in South Dallas. Now, some of them are declaring victory in their battle with the school district.
The fight started after the Dallas ISD announced a $22 million plan to buy out 20 properties so it would have room to rebuild O.M. Roberts Elementary School, which is more than a century old.
The district offered homeowners between $14,000 and $50,000 to purchase their properties.
Residents on Gurley Street contacted their state senators, school board trustee, and even the mayor to try to keep their homes. They even posted signs that read, "Help stop DISD land grab."
Some residences are already boarded up, the victims of eminent domain. But residents like Shawn Busari won the fight to keep the house her parents purchased nearly 50 years ago.
DISD has sent a letter saying the district will not be pursuing eminent domain, and that any pending court action to seize neighborhood homes will be dismissed.
Busari credited the help of an attorney who took the neighborhood case pro bono. "He never said 'never.' I think that's the most empowering part; he took the time to know our story," she said.
Claudia Lozano said her parents received the same letter, which means they also get to stay in their home of 40 years. They couldn't afford to part with it at DISD's $50,000 offer.
"It was not fair to take the neighborhood at that price," she said. "Where were my parents going to move? They can't go anywhere else."
With the school right across the street though, Lozano is reluctant to celebrate due to possible renovation plans.
"It's not going to be fair," he said. "We've been fighting all this time; now we'll have a parking lot as a neighbor."
The area's DISD school trustee says the school will be rebuilt by 2013, and parking lots and parks may soon surround the homes not acquired by eminent domain.
There are five more homeowners who are still fighting the seizure of their properties. Those residents are represented by the same lawyer who took the other cases, but DISD would not comment on a pending case.
The attorney hopes to settle the lawsuit during mediation before going to court.
E-mail ddenmon@wfaa.com
